Posts Tagged ‘Beastie Boys’

Although I continue to stick by many of the comments I made in my first official blog post towards Motion City Soundtrack’s recently released My Dinosaur Life, I can’t deny how unbelievable the song, “Worker Bee, ” sounds in the following live videos:

Wow. Talk about a song getting better when played live!

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of the new album, I must confess how much, “Pulp Fiction, ” has grown on me as of late. It’s truly a superb song, with a welcome synthesizer part in the intro along with a bass sound that seems taken right from the Beastie Boys hit, “Sabotage, ” and Tony Thaxton’s usual dose of amazing drumming. The chorus only improves on the greatness of the intro and verse, and helps to move things along.

Beastie Boys – “Ch-Check It Out” (To the 5 Boroughs, Capitol, 2004): By the time Beastie Boys released 2004’s To the 5 Boroughs, five years had passed since their anthology release The Sounds of Science and six years since their last proper full length Hello Nasty. Despite the gap, To the 5 Boroughs is still a solid album, with the honor of preeminent song easily going to the first single, “Ch-Check It Out. “ The trademark shouts and lyrical trade-offs that made the group so revolutionary in the 80s are quite present here, along with their incessant pop culture references (watch out, Nick at Night, Mutual of Omaha and even Miss Piggy). The way MCA starts the song is classic-instantly blowing the listener away with a fierce lyrical assault, somehow making Star Trek quite cool in the process. And later, when Ad-Rock sends it back over to MCA, with a quick, “MCA grab the mic before the mic goes stale, ” the song heads in yet another direction. The instrumentation is pretty minimal, restricted mainly to drums and a horn section, yet the signature vocals are more than adequate to support the song and keep it moving forward.

Anberlin – “Never Take Friendship Personal” (Never Take Friendship Personal, Tooth & Nail, 2005): After 2003’s Blueprints for the Black Market hit store shelves and the expected great deal of touring, Florida’s Anberlin eventually made their way back into the studio to record Never Take Friendship Personal, an album which to this day still contains many of their more beloved songs (including the single, “A Day Late”). However, the opening title track deserves its day in the sun as well-it’s a solid, heavy rock number with an opening barrage of chugging guitars and frenetic drums, all eventually coming together into a solid beat that, just as quickly, breaks down into a half-time fist-pumper for the verses. The chorus brings it all together, jumping back and forth between off-beat and straight-forward rock, all before the bridge builds up into an all-out screamfest. Some head-banging half-time ends the song, truly leaving the listener breathless and wanting more.

Head Automatica – “Beating Heart Baby” (Decadence, Warner Bros. , 2004): Glassjaw leader Daryl Palumbo took a bit of a leap in 2004 from his main band’s post-hardcore sound with the release of Decadence, the first album from his electronic-tinged side project Head Automatica. However, the single, “Beating Heart Baby, ” still managed to win over many who considered the group too different from Glassjaw, what with its infectious groove and Palumbo’s all-too-familiar singing, laced with the yelps and screams one has come to expect from the enigmatic frontman. The guitars, bass and drums that dominate Glassjaw’s music get a boost from the synthesizer on this song, and the straight-forward nature of the tune takes an ethereal turn during the bridge, all before a quick cowbell-based interlude brings it on home. As corny as any of this may sound, it’s actually very creative and fun, and a definite step in a new direction for Palumbo.